Before Christmas, minister Bussemaker said that the RUG would only be able to begin its planned campus in Yantai in the fall of 2018, one year later than planned. According to Bussemaker, a general order in council making the campus possible will be handled this coming summer. But before the Lower House can address that, changes to the law regarding internationalisation of education must come first. That legal change is now on the agenda for a Lower House plenary meeting on Wednesday of next week, according to a tweet from Socialist Party MP Jasper van Dijk.
‘I was shocked’, says Van Dijk. ‘It very much looks like it’s being fast tracked by the VVD in order to push the law through before the elections’, he says. Lower House elections will be held on 15 March.
VVD MP Pieter Duisenberg says that he was a proponent of addressing the legal change quickly because it is in the interest of the RUG. ‘We want to do it before the elections because it is important for the RUG and its partners to be able to move forward’, says Duisenberg.
According to RUG spokesperson Gernant Deekens, there is no talk of the legal change being fast tracked. ‘The impression seems to be that the amendment is being handled more quickly all of sudden. That is not the case. The minister indicated in the debate on 14 December of last year that the general order in council will be presented to the Lower House in the summer. The legal change has to be accepted by the parliament first. The order is legal change first and then the order in council, and that sequence of events is entirely logical.’
Wet die #RUG ruimte geeft om in China te beginnen, staat ineens op wo 18 jan 10:30 op de agenda #fouteboel @studentenbond @ROODGroningen https://t.co/XBDfkVskYm
— Jasper van Dijk (@JaspervanDijkSP) January 10, 2017
Tweet translation: The law enabling the RUG to start in China is suddenly on the agenda for Wednesday, 18 January at 10:30. #trouble
Elections
The current law does not permit offering academic programmes in a foreign country in their entirety. Changes to the laws for internationalisation of education mean that will change, too. If the new law were to be handled after the elections, that could lead to months of delay in setting up the campus in China on account of the formation of a new cabinet.
But the elections could also mean an uncertain future for the campus, due among other things to the fact that the PVV – which is leading in several polls – is against a foreign campus.
According to the minister, the legal changes are essential to starting the campus in Yantai. ‘They are very large in scope, and as such, they have to be carefully reviewed’, she said previously. The changes to the law, which will make it possible for Dutch universities to offer entire academic programmes abroad, must enable the minister to carry out that review process.
‘Institutions cannot just move forward with these sorts of plans, they have to have ministerial approval – especially in light of the risks involved. If they are not adequately protected, that could come at the expense of Dutch students and Dutch education. That would be unspeakable and unacceptable’, the education minister said during a Lower House debate in December.
According to a spokesperson for minister Bussemaker, the general order in council is still planned for debate in the summer. ‘The planning for Yantai remains the same’, he says.
‘Surprised’
The Personnel faction of the University Council is ‘surprised’ that the legal change will be discussed next week. ‘We thought that it would be addresed closer to the summer’, says faction chairperson Bart Beijer. ‘It is good to know what the members of the house think of it. It’s a matter of waiting to see what comes of the debate.’
Student union LSVb is not pleased that the law will be addressed so soon. ‘We still have major objections! The rights of students abroad have not yet been guaranteed’, the union stated on Twitter.
What exactly is this legal change?
The legal change focuses primarily on transnational education, which means offering entire academic programmes abroad.
The law that is currently on the books would require Chinese students in Yantai to spend at least one-fourth of their studies in the Netherlands. But the Chinese government does not accept that. With this legal change, the requirement will lapse and students will be able to complete their studies in their entirety in Yantai. They will no longer be required to study here for any length of time.
The changes to the law will also mean that providing entire programmes abroad will require specific approval by the minister of education.
The proposal will be discussed in the Lower House next week on Wednesday. Only after the change has been accepted by both the Lower and Upper Houses can the general order in council be addressed.
What is in the general rule in council?
The general order in council will include the criteria the minister of education will use to evaluate the academic programmes that universities want to offer in their entirety abroad.
The general order in council will also establish further conditions about quality assurance and keeping private and public funding separate.
What is a general rule in council?
A general order in council is a decision by the government which elaborates on legal regulations. Most general orders in council are based upon an existing law. When that is not the case, it is referred to as an ‘independent’ general order in council.
The government must first seek advice from the Council of State for a draft general order of council.
Occasionally, certain limitations are added to the law that require a so-called ‘verification procedure’ (voorhangprocedure) to take place before the general order can be realised.
The ‘verification procedure’ means that the Upper and Lower House members have 30 days to request that the general order be submitted to the States General in the form of a bill. When a general order is submitted as a bill instead, it has to be handled by the Upper House as well.